1. وَلَستُ بِناسٍ فَضلَ مَروانَ ما دَعَت

    حَمامَةُ أَيكٍ في الحَمامِ الهَواتِفِ

    And I shall not forget Marwan's favor as long as

    a dove of the thicket calls among the cooing doves.

  2. وَكانَ لِمَن رَدَّ الحَياةَ وَنَفسُهُ

    عَلَيها بَواكٍ بِالعُيونِ الذَوارِفِ

    And his favor was for one whose life he restored, while his soul

    had mourners weeping over it with streaming eyes.

  3. وَما أَحَدٌ مُعطىً عَطاءً كَنَفسِهِ

    إِذا نَشِبَت مَكظومَةٌ بِالخَوائِفِ

    And no one is granted a gift like his own life,

    when it is caught, stifled by terrors.

  4. حُتوفُ المَنايا قَد أَطَفنَ بِنَفسِهِ

    وَأَشلاءِ مَحبوسٍ عَلى المَوتِ واقِفِ

    The dooms of death had already surrounded his soul

    and the limbs of a prisoner awaiting death.

  5. وَما زالَ فيكُم آلَ مَروانُ مُنعِمٌ

    عَلَيَّ بِنُعمى بادِئٍ ثُمَّ عاطِفِ

    And among you, house of Marwan, there has always been a benefactor

    bestowing favors on me, first granting them and then renewing them.

  6. فَإِن أَكُ مَحبوساً بِغَيرِ جَريرَةٍ

    فَقَد أَخَذوني آمِناً غَيرَ خائِفِ

    So if I am imprisoned without an offense,

    they surely seized me secure and unafraid.

  7. وَما سَجَنوني غَيرَ أَنّي اِبنُ غالِبٍ

    وَأَنّي مِنَ الأَثرَينِ غَيرِ الزَعانِفِ

    And they imprisoned me only because I am Ghalib's son,

    and because I am among the wealthy, not the rabble,

  8. وَأَنّي الَّذي كانَت تَعُدُّ لِثَغرِها

    تَميمٌ لِأَبياتِ العَدُوِّ المَقاذِفِ

    and because I am the one kept ready for its frontier

    by Tamim, against the enemy's far-flung verses.

  9. وَكَم مِن عَدُوٍّ دونَهُم قَد فَرَستُهُ

    إِلى المَوتِ لَم يَسطَع إِلى السُمِّ رائِفِ

    And many an enemy I have mauled in their defense

    to death; no compassionate man could reach the poison.

  10. وَكُنتُ مَتى تَعلَق حِبالي قَرينَةً

    إِذا عَلِقَت أَقرانَها بِالسَوالِفِ

    And whenever my ropes caught a rival,

    when they seized their rivals by the sides of the neck,

  11. مَدَدتُ عَلابِيَّ القَرينِ وَزِدتَهُ

    عَلى المَدِّ جَذباً لِلقَرينِ المُخالِفِ

    I stretched the rival's neck sinews, and gave him still more:

    beyond the stretching, a tug at the defiant rival.

  12. وَإِنّي لِأَعداءِ الخَنادِفِ مِدرَهٌ

    بِذَحلٍ غَنِيٍّ بِالنَوائِبِ كالِفِ

    And I am a champion against the enemies of the Khanadif,

    in the blood-feud with Ghani, eager for calamities.

  13. لِجامُ شَجىً بَينَ اللَهاتَينِ مَن يَقَع

    لَهُ في فَمٍ يَركَب سَبيلَ المَتالِفِ

    A choking bridle between the two palates: whoever receives it

    in his mouth rides the path to destruction.

  14. وَإِن غِبتُ كانوا بَينَ راوٍ وَمُحتَبٍ

    وَبَينَ مُعيبٍ قَلبُهُ بِالشَنائِفِ

    And if I am absent, some recite and some sit with knees clasped,

    and some find fault, their hearts full of hatred.

  15. وَبِالأَمسِ ما قَد حاذَروا وَقعَ صَولَتي

    فَصَيَّفَ عَنها كُلُّ باغٍ وَقاذِفِ

    And only yesterday they dreaded the impact of my assault,

    so every aggressor and slanderer swerved away from it.

  16. وَقَد عَلِمَ المَقرونُ بي أَنَّ رَأسَهُ

    سَيَذهَبُ أَو يُرمى بِهِ في النَفانِفِ

    And whoever is yoked to me knows that his head

    will be lost, or hurled into the chasms.